New Today: The Complaints by Ian Rankin

When he killed off John Rebus, his well-loved detective, in last year’s aptly named Exit Music, some people feared that might be the last we’d hear from Ian Rankin, as well. Not so. New today, The Complaints (Orion), in which we are introduced to Malcolm Fox. Though Fox is stationed not far from Rebus, his mission is a lifetime away. The Complaints is this week’s “Pierce’s Pick” here at January Magazine and, as is his habit, J. Kingston Pierce does a great job setting things up:

After penning 17 Inspector John Rebus novels, Rankin introduces a new protagonist: Edinburgh policeman Malcolm Fox, who’s tasked with investigating dirty cops. Here Fox is told to probe the activities of Jamie Breck. He doesn’t expect, though, to discover things about Breck that make him a danger to others -- including Fox himself.

But, unless you’re in the UK, don’t rush off to your local bookseller just yet, unless it’s to order: as far as I know, The Complaints is not yet scheduled for U.S. publication.